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Manchester United Has Agreed To An £85m Fee With Ajax For Winger Antony
Manchester United Has Agreed To An £85m Fee With Ajax For Winger Antony
Manchester United have agreed on an £85m deal to sign Antony from Eredivisie side, Ajax
United Has Agreed to an £85m Fee With Ajax For Winger Antony after months of pursuing the 22-year-old.
Man United will pay a guaranteed £80.75 million plus £4.25 million in add-ons for the 22-year-old, who is expected to arrive in Manchester within the next 48 hours for a medical.
Antony was left out of Ajax’s squad for Sunday’s game against Utrecht as negotiations between the clubs continued. Personal terms are not expected to be an issue in this transaction.
Man United have been pursuing Anthony for several weeks and had a £67.9 million (€80 million) offer rejected earlier this week. United has also considered other options.
They are interested in Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and will continue to monitor his situation. Chelsea is also interested in signing Aubameyang.
Cody Gakpo of PSV Eindhoven remains a target for Manchester United. It has been said that signing both Antony and Gakpo is “unlikely but not impossible.”
On Friday, in a YouTube interview with Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Antony said: “Since February of this year, my agents came to Amsterdam to inform Ajax of my desire to leave the club to face a new challenge and that some interested clubs would arrive and, with them, certainly a great offer.
“During the window months, meetings concluded including a proposal from Ajax for contract renewal. I made it clear once again I want to leave the club.
“Today in a meeting with the board I expressed my interest in leaving the club, this time with a considerable offer on the table. Others have already arrived [but] Ajax always refuses with the argument it only has five days to replace (me).
“I’m not asking [for Ajax] to release me, I am asking Ajax to sell me as the highest bid received by a player who plays in the Eredivisie.”
Antony would be reunited with ex-Ajax manager Erik ten Hag, who has already signed defender Lisandro Martinez from his former club.
“I was very happy in Amsterdam, I won titles at Ajax, made friends and built part of my career, but now I reinforce that I am ready and full of motivation to follow my story and my dreams,” Antony added.
“People need to listen to me and understand that my motivation moves me towards happiness. I need this to continue performing at a high level. Ajax will always be in my heart.”
Antony’s stats at Eredivisie
- Games played-52
- Goals scored-18
- Assists-14
- Shots-147
- Chances created-75